Originally Posted by
narvik
It seems a number of airlines are looking for ways to drum up traffic in anticipation of post Covid-19.
I just got something from SQ that I have not bothered to look into the details, because it is not a priority for me to think about traveling when there are more important things to worry about at work and home.
The perspectives of Flyertalkers can be skewed,
because I gather most of us travel for work and paid by other people, so we may not look at leisure traveler behaviors or other factors such as general economy conditions of countries around the world. Unemployment is a global issue not just in the US. May be we are more secured in our employment situation or because most of us need to travel for our work, but I have been in my travel intensive career for over 30-years and have seen the recoveries being slow post economic downturns and have led to bankruptcy restructurings across the airlines industry multiple times.
UA’s international network also relies heavily on international travelers not just on US based flyers. The exposure is high and nothing is certain and everything is uncertain (other than we got our status extended for 12 months).
I will likely be the first wave of people who start flying once the travel restrictions are being lifted around the world. I have no choice because of work demand, but despite my passion for flying, I will consciously cut down on flying and also my organization and my stakeholders have recognized during this crisis that traveling may not be the only way or effective way to get things done. On the contrary, in certain sectors, the productivities actually have gone up when working virtually.
I am surrounded by my family, friends and colleagues who love to fly and travel, but no one is planning anything now unless there are existing personal commitments that cannot be changed. Some are moving kids back to colleges closer to home or considering job changes in anticipation of changes in demand, and others who decide it is more important to cut down discretionary spending to save for the uncertainties.
We will all just have to wait and see....